War Memorial Opera
House, San Francisco
May 3rd, 2014
San Francisco Ballet’s
final mixed repertory program danced through the latter half of the twentieth
century. The tour began with George Balanchine’s 1957 “Agon”, moved forward to
1966, and his “Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet”, and ended with Jerome Robbins’
“Glass Pieces” from 1983. A series of work from master choreographers; a
perfect ending to a delightful 2014 season.
“Agon” epitomizes the
Balanchine style – deconstructed theatrical elements, Balanchine ballet
vocabulary, stage patterns and dance architecture. Though “Agon” is known for
the famed central pas de deux, the entire work is filled with moments of
brilliance. When translated into Greek, agon means ‘contest’, yet the majority
of the ballet is quite playful, even fun. In Part II’s Gailliard, Jennifer
Stahl and Grace Shibley perfectly demonstrated the specificity of Balanchine’s
technique. As they both extended their legs into a relevé long, they were careful
to pay proper attention to every step of the process – first tendu, then
attitude (with the knee higher than the foot), and finally, into full
extension. In the Bransle Simple, Jaime Garcia Castilla and Hansuke Yamamoto
outlined Balanchine’s intricate understanding of timing, through a complicated recurring
canon. And then came the pas de deux, danced at this performance by Yuan Yuan
Tan and Davit Karapetyan. It is in this duet that the ballet’s title comes
through. On the one hand, Tan and Karapetyan are definitely working in concert,
cycling as a team through the near-impossible Balanchine partnering. But at the
same time, the choreography communicates a sense of control and struggle from
both. While certainly slow and meticulous, ‘the contest’ was still very present
and palpable.
With “Brahms-Schoenberg
Quartet”, the audience gets to see a very different side of Balanchine; a much
more classical one at that. Separated into four individual sections, the
underlying traditional esthetic is maintained, yet each also incorporates its
own unique spirit. Led by Lorena Feijoo and Castilla, movement number one is
elegantly mature, but not at all restrained. Maria Kochetkova and Vitor Luiz
followed with a youthful, joyful variation. Flowy and romantic, the movement
was peppered with surprising Balanchinian elements, like Kochetkova’s fouettés,
featuring a forward working leg. Dores André and Joan Boada brought regality to
chapter three. Boada’s tours en l’air were truly magnificent but the highlight
of this vignette was Rebecca Rhodes, one of the three featured corps dancers.
Rhodes exudes genuineness in every moment onstage, and has a keen awareness of
what is happening around her. “Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet” closed with Sofiane
Sylve and Luke Ingham leading the corps de ballet through a high-energy
cultural folk dance. Sylve and Ingham were powerfully hypnotizing and the stage
percolated with life, but this last movement seemed out of place with the rest
of the ballet.
Program 8 closed with
Robbins’ “Glass Pieces”, a contemporary ballet triptych about community. As the
piece began, opposite forces became clear. While the cast walked quickly all
around the space, three solo couples emerged. Order was being drawn out of
commotion and hubbub; stylized movement out of egalitarian pedestrianism. The
contrast continued as Kristina Lind and Tiit Helimets took the stage in
‘Facades’ slow, introspective pas de deux. Lind and Helimets expertly wove
through the serious and contemplative variation – their long, lean extensions went
on forever; their series of overlaid promenades, immaculate. The entire corps
(led by the men) returned in the third movement, reinstating Robbins’ notion of
community. Through a variety of stage patterns and unexpected choreographic
surprises (the women’s arms in the circular turning sequence), “Glass Pieces”
celebrated the collective, and each individual’s contribution to that group.
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| San Francisco Ballet in Robbins' "Glass Pieces", Photo ©Erik Tomasson |
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